Someone To Save You
by FictionalRomance
Summary: Meredith Grey is a high school senior trying to figure out her life while trying to get through many painful issues. Her boyfriend is taking his issues out on her and somehow, Derek Shepherd comes into play. Deals with abuse. R&R!
1. Someone To Save You

Patience  
Took you for everything  
Looked like a diamond ring  
You love was so much longer  
Than made sense  
Apathy in disguise  
Crept on you like a spy  
Hurt you in ways  
You can't describe

Back to the star now  
I won't let you go this way now

Honesty  
Is what you need  
It sets you free  
Like someone to save you  
Let it go  
But hurry though  
There's undertow  
And I don't want to lose you

Now  
Alright  
Sit down and spill your heart  
Let's start from the very start  
'Cause I can see by your eyes  
You're wasted  
Your energy comes and goes  
You're taking you're time, and no  
Nothing can changed what's happened

So back to the star, now  
I won't let you go this way

Don't want to lose you now  
Oh now

Oh my  
Look how your bright stars fade  
So  
How much can you take

**Someone To Save You – One Republic.**


	2. Face Down

****

This is my new fic. I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer: If I owned anything relating to Grey's, I wouldn't be worrying about what college I'm going to or what I'm going to do with my life, I'd be living in luxury with Paddy by my side. That said, don't sue me.**

He loves me. Every time he hits me, I'm forced to remind myself of that. He's the one person that has ever loved me. My mother absolutely despises me and I was a young child the last time I saw my father. So I'm forgiving him… he loves me.

"Mer baby, I'm sorry. I just, you need to stop talking to other guys. You know it pisses me off, babe," Adam said a little harsher than I needed. Tears came to my eyes again, but I held them back.

"I know… I'll stop, I promise," I manage to get out. He wrapped his arms around me and once again, I pretended like everything was perfectly fine.

"I love you," he breathes as he kisses me forehead gently.

"Yeah, you too," I can't even say it. Truth is, I never loved him. He makes me sick to my stomach. But he loves me and that's all that matters.

I finally relax into him and fall asleep there. He must have fallen asleep too because when I woke up, his head was resting on top of mine and his breathing was even. I gently removed myself from his grasp and made my way to the bathroom upstairs. Looking in the mirror, I sigh. The damage done this time would be hard to hide. My eye was surrounded by black and blue bruises, a small gash across my forehead. I've learned to ignore the physical pain of it all; it goes away a lot easier. I grab a cloth and soak it in warm water. It burns as I gently rub off the dry blood and realize the gash is deeper than I expected. If I were smart, I'd go get stitches. Instead, I walk down to the kitchen and grab an ice pack. Holding it to my eye, the pain is eventually numbed away and the swelling has gone down to a minimal extent.

I don't know how nobody has noticed the things he does to me. Our relationship wasn't always like this. In the beginning, I truly believed I was the luckiest girl alive; I was dating Adam Malone, one of the most popular guys in school. Our relationship was perfect. Then one day, his mom had a stroke and died. I tried to comfort him but he pushed me away and became darker than I secretly was. A couple weeks later, everything was back to normal. Then one day, I brought up the fact I hated my mom was never around and consequently, got slapped in the face. He apologized and that was that. A few days later, I complained about my mother forgetting my birthday and he punched me. Everyday since then, it's gotten worse. I keep telling myself its going to end, but I'm beginning to doubt it.

Covering it up is the hard part. Luckily it's winter, because short sleeved shirts are no longer an option. My arms are bruised up and down from him holding me down, my legs are bruised from him kicking, and my stomach from him punching. Dark makeup has become some sort of a trademark of mine; with a little extra foundation, it covers a black eye.

"Babe?" he calls from below. I sigh and run downstairs.

"Yeah?" I ask as I run downstairs. I've learned that walking is never an option.

"Fuck Mer. At least try to cover your eye. What if your mom comes home?" he spits.

"She's never home, you know that," I sigh. If I bring my mom up after he does, I have less of a chance of getting hit. "I was working on covering it when you called me down."

"Well, do it better. You can see the damn thing from a mile away…"

I go back upstairs and finish covering it. He complains that it is still noticeable but there's really nothing else I can do.

This is how my life's been going for 6 months now. He hits me, he apologizes, I accept, and the same thing happens the next day. It's going to happen tomorrow. But things will go very different. And this difference, it's going to change my life forever.__

Cover up with makeup in the mirror  
Tell yourself it's never going to happen again  
You cry alone and then he swears he loves you

Do you feel like a man  
When you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found

A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect  
Every action in this world will bear a consequence  
If you wade around forever you will surely drown  
I see what's going down

I see the way you go and say you're right again  
Say you're right again  
Heed my lecture

Do you feel like a man  
When you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has

**One day she will tell you that she has had enough  
It's coming around again**

* * *

**So I know its short but this is my intro to the story. I'm not going to update too often but I hope you'll enjoy the fic. R&R please :)**

**Oh and anyone read the Twilight series? I'm really excited for Breaking Dawn! :)**

* * *


	3. Signal Fire

**Here's the update!**

**Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Grey's Anatomy… yadda yadda yadda.**

I wake up the next morning and gently remove his arm from around me, careful not to wake him. I make my way to the bathroom and turn on the water before I slip out of my pajamas. My body immediately relaxes under the warmth of the water flowing over my body. I quickly wash up and wrap my towel around my body. I frown as I look into the mirror. My eye is now surrounded by various dark colors, almost in a tie-dye pattern. I quickly grab my foundation and begin dabbing it on with a sponge. I cringe from the pain every dab. Adam walks into the bathroom and watches me for a minute before kissing my neck and getting in the shower.

I'm completely aware that people are doing double-takes as I walk by them on campus. I'm avoiding Adam at all costs. Last night I decided he didn't actually love me. I decided that if he did really love me, he wouldn't be hurting me. I also decided that it was time to end it; time to wake up from this never-ending nightmare. It was time.

This avoiding thing is rather difficult with Adam. Because somehow he knows I'm avoiding. This, in return, means he's looking for me. And by looking I mean he's searching like a predator for a prey; he's pissed. I've seem him twice in the hallways, peeking over heads, searching for mine. My biggest problem? He's in my next class.

I'm naturally an avoider; it's what I do best. I avoid my mom at home, I avoided talking about or thinking of my father, and I avoid confrontations with Adam. As I walk off campus, I feel as though someone is watching me, but ignore the feeling and continue down the road. As I reach my house, I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding in and open the front door.

Two hours later I hear banging on my front door. Shit, Adam was aware I was avoiding him. And he was angry. Any normal day, he'd be by my side at all times, carefully watching for any mistake he could use against me. The shit is crazy, I swear.

"Open up the fucking door you bitch! I'll knock it down if I have to Meredith!"

I weight my options and decide opening the door would be best. As I slowly unlock it, he stops banging and looks me square in the eyes before I am knocked to the ground.

"Where the fuck were you today? With some guy, I assume. You fucking worthless whore." He shoved me again as I tried to get up from my spot on the ground. He held me down and slapped my face hard. It burned. I screamed for help but it was obviously no use. As he hit me again, I felt warmth spreading down my face. He punched me with his ring on again. I fight and squirm but it's no use; I'm vulnerable in this position. I lose hope and succumb just as I hear an unfamiliar voice shouting.

"What the fuck is going on? Get off her!" I hear him shout. He must have pulled Adam off of me because I'm no longer being held down, although I can't get the energy to get up, or open my eyes for that matter. I hear them fighting and the door suddenly opens, and then is slammed shut. He was gently wiping my face off as I opened my eyes. He smiled sadly at me.

"Hi I'm Derek Shepherd."

"M-Meredith Grey," I say as I look into his soft blue eyes. As my vision becomes clear, I see that he is actually rather good looking; sexy, even. "Um, what are you doing in my house?"

"Oh I'm Ellis Grey's intern. I was just here to pick something up for her. Are you her daughter?" He asked as I nodded slightly. "We need to get you to the hospital."

"No, no, no. I'm fine, really. This isn't as bad as it seems."

"Miss Grey, you need to be checked out." He said gentle, yet forceful, as he wiped off more blood on my face.

"Can't you do it? I mean, you are an intern, right? These wounds aren't anything big. Just bandage me up and we're good to go." I say as I begin to get up.

"And you should call the cops on that kid." He carefully leads me over to the couch and turns to face me.

"No, he's just… I can't."

"Why's that?"

"Please, just please don't tell anyone. I can handle this." I plead. I look into his eyes and see myself clearly for the first time. I'm sad, possibly pathetic. He looks worried and for some reason, I can't help but be happy. Looking into his eyes, I see concern and worry. I see someone that cares.

"Meredith, you need to tell someone, you've got to stop this," he said as he shifted to face me even more. "How long has he been doing this?"

"I just… I can't." Tears brim my eyes and his frown deepens.

"How long, Meredith?"

"I don't know, okay?" I yell. "I have no idea. Six months ago, maybe. I just… I kept telling myself it would stop and I just… I have no idea. It wasn't as bad at first." I cry and he pulls me closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder. We sit there for what seems to be forever, as he rubs his hand on my back and whispers that it's going to be okay into my ear. For a second, I actually believe him.

_There you are, standing right in front of me  
There you are, standing right in front of me  
Forced fear falls away to leave me naked  
Hold me close  
Cause I need you to guide me to safety_

_**In the confusion  
and the aftermath  
You are my signal fire**_

* * *

So was planning on writing a large update for you but I got caught up watching Maid of Honor and pigging out. So I'm going to try for another tomorrow and give you this one for the night well technically another today and give you this one at 2:30 this morning.


	4. Believe

Ahh I am sorry, yet again! My grandma had a heart attack and it was just really sad and hectic because she had a stroke a few months ago and there's just a lot of tension in my family. And schoolwork has been piling up. I'm currently procrastinating on writing an essay. By the way, don't read anything by Hawthorne. Hemmingway, yes. Hawethorne, no. I can't believe we read both in the same year; they're nothing alike! Hemmingway is greatness and Hawethorne shouldn't have been given a pen and paper. Okay, enough of my rant.

* * *

Once I stopped crying, Derek slowly moved his shoulder from under my head to look at me. He smiled apologetically and stood up, careful to make sure he didn't touch any of my wounds.

"You really should go to the hospital," he sighed.

"I can't, okay." My voice is barely audible. I look up at him and frown, "crap, I got blood on your shirt… I'm sorry."

He looks down and notices the blood stain on his shoulder. "It's fine, really."

We sit there looking at each other in a comfortable silence for quite some time. I can't help but notice how attractive he is. Blue eyes, dark curls placed perfectly atop his beautiful stubble-covered face. Yum. I remember that I mist look absolutely ridiculous; blood staining my clothes, hair, and face; black, blue, and purple covering my eye and other various places on my body. I'm damaged.

"I, um… I need to get back to the hospital before your mother fires me."

"Oh, okay," I say sadly. I'm afraid Adam is waiting for the moment he leaves. I shudder at the thought.

"But I can't leave you alone; especially not in that state. So maybe you could quickly clean up and accompany me? If I can't tell anyone, I'm sure as not going to have your safety on my conscience. I just feel it would be better if you weren't left alone for now." He sighed, running a hand through that perfect hair of his. I wonder if he notices that even in this condition, I can't help but look. "And this is my last task of the day; I'm off after I drop the book your mother needed off at the hospital."

"Its fine," I lie through my teeth. "I'll be fine. You're an intern and I know you don't get too much tine off and you probably need sleep. Sleep is good. As an intern, I'm sure you can't get enough sleep. I've already burdened you enough. Just… its fine. I can stay here," I ramble on.

"As much as I enjoy sleep, I actually have gotten plenty lately and wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I just left you here. So go upstairs and get ready."

I realize I'm not up for an argument so I ascend the stairs as quickly as possible and jump in the shower, once again letting the warm water sooth me. As I run the washcloth over my body, I am aware of every mark left. My wrists were sore from him holding me down, and I had a large bruise on my shoulder. I quickly get out of the shower and wrap a towel around me.

Thirty minutes later, we were pulling into the Seattle Grace parking lot. We rode there in silence as I watched houses go by and he paid attention to the road.

"Are you coming in?" He asked as he opened his door and began getting out.

"Um, no, I think I'll wait in here."

He nodded and walked swiftly towards the hospital. I leaned the chair back and put my iPod headphones in, escaping in the music.

Derek returned about ten minutes later with a bag of nacho cheese Doritos in hand. "I figured you might be hungry and I didn't know what you liked so I figured everyone likes Doritos."

"I do like Doritos, thank you," I say as a smile softly at him and open the bag. "So what are we doing?"

"Well, will you still be hungry after the chips?"

"Yup," I mumble as I shove a chip into my mouth. "Want one?" I offer.

"No thanks," he laughed. "So do you want to go grab a late lunch? I think we probably need to talk, or you need to."

Although talking doesn't sound appealing, I owe it to him for saving me. "Sure, lunch sounds nice."

"What do you feel like?"

"I could go for anything, your choice."

"Well, there's a little café up here and the food there is quite good."

"Okay, sounds good."

As we enter the café, I can't help but notice the looks Derek is receiving. I can't blame the girls for looking, but a little pang of jealousy hit when I realized Derek was way out of my league. Gorgeous girls, girls with boyfriends, hell married girls couldn't help but check Derek out. I looked at him and smiled when he looked down at me. Like I said, I can't blame them.

The waitress came and asked us if we'd like anything to drink as we sat down. We were both fine with water. As she left, Derek looked at me and sighed.

"So I think we should talk," he said softly.

I look into the pool of blue staring at me and managed to breathe a short "yeah" in response.

"I, um," he looked up to make sure no one was around and back down to me, "why are you letting this happen."

Anger flashes through me, "What do you mean 'letting this happen'? Do you think I haven't tried stopping it? That I haven't made an attempt to end it?"

He frowns, "that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" I spat.

"I just meant, well… Why haven't you gone to anyone for help?"

"I just… he was a good person, he was amazing. I looked up to him and he was almost perfect. I could have loved him; I thought I did. I just… he's not this person, he's not horrible," I begin to cry and he puts his hand over mine as we sit there in silence. I compose myself as quick as possible. "I'm sorry, I usually don't cry this much, I promise."

He smiles sadly at me, "it's completely understandable. You're crying less than any other person would, anyway. But it's just… what you said, people change. This new person isn't good for you." His hand gently falls off mine and he picks his drink up, taking a quick gulp.

"Yeah but… I guess you're right. I don't know what to do."

"I'd say go to someone but really, it's your decision. If he ever lays another hand on you, though, I couldn't forgive myself. I don't want to let you go get hurt, me being the only one with this knowledge. Does anyone else know?" I shook my head. "Well, if he tries touching you, call me." He hands me a card with his number on it over the table and smiles.

"I will."

The waitress must have sensed the new lack in tension because she came and took our orders, her eyes focusing on Derek the entire time.

"So it seems you have quite the fan base," I say, trying to lighten the mood.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't think a single girl has passed by you without at least taking a second glance."

"Oh, come on," he blushes, "that's not true."

"Whatever you wish to believe," I laugh.

"Well, you've been checked out a couple times yourself," he laughs. We had managed to hide the majority of the marks on my face with an excess of makeup, so I didn't appear to be bruised.

"Hah, you're funny. So tell me about yourself. I mean, you are my knight in shining… whatever."

"Knight in shining whatever? That's a new one," he laughs as I shoot him a glare. "Okay, um, I work at Seattle Grace hospital. I'm an intern so I don't have too much free time but I do enjoy fishing, I read the occasional book, Sun Also Rises is my favorite. Favorite band? The Clash. I want to specialize in Neuro; the brain fascinates me. Um, I don't really know what else to say, I'm not a very interesting person."

I laugh. "You're right about that."

"Hey, unfair! So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Yeah, I'm just a girl." He raises his eyebrows. "Fine, fine. I'm 17, but I'll be 18 in a month. I'm a senior in high school and I'm an aspiring surgeon although Ellis doesn't want me to be one because apparently, I won't make it. Um, I study quite a bit, but I guess you could say that I party a bit too much, also. But I do get straight A's. And I'm in almost all AP classes, two of which are AP sciences."

"Impressive. I guess I'm going to have some competition in the future."

"If I make it. Maybe I'll just be a lawyer. Ellis says that's more suitable for me."

"I think you'll make an excellent surgeon. You're ambitious, you'll make it."

"Thank you."

And for once in my life, someone believed in me; for once in my life, I believed in myself.

_Something's always coming you can hear it in the ground  
It swells into the air  
With the rising  
Rising sound_

_And never comes but shakes the boards and rattles all the doors  
What are we waiting for_

_So give me something to believe  
Cause I am living just to breath  
And I need something more  
To keep on breathing for  
So give me something to believe_

_I am hiding from some beast  
But the beast was always here  
Watching without eyes  
**Because the beast is just my fear  
That I am just nothing  
Now its just what I've become  
What am I waiting for  
Its already done**_

**R&R!**


	5. I'd Rather Be With You

**Thanks for the reviews! I meant to update twice today because I stayed home sick but I slept most of the day, then did my homework and studied a bit. But here's the update, sorry if it's not the best.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's, I would be updating instead of studying. Needless to say, I don't.**

Once I stopped crying, Derek slowly moved his shoulder from under my head to look at me

"So what do you want to do today?" Derek asked as we made our way back to his car.

"I really wouldn't mind if you'd rather do something else today. I'm sure you've got plenty of friends your age you'd rather hang out with."

"Friends? Hah. I'm a surgeon. And my best friend is a surgeon. I don't have much time to make friends. I haven't been in Seattle very long, I'm from New York."

"Oh, what made you move all the way out here?" He opens my door for me and I sit down as he runs to his door and gets in.

"Seattle Grace is an amazing hospital and the intern program is one of the best there is, how could I not come?" He looks to me as he turns the key in the ignition.

"True. Well, I really don't know what you'd want to do today. If you haven't been here very long, you obviously haven't had to see the sights, right?"

"Are you offering to be my tour guide?"

"Sure, let's go," I smiled as he sped out of the parking lot.

"Okay, take your next left," I instruct as he does as I told, "you can park in here," I smile as he parks and turns off the key.

We get out of the care as he looks up, "you took me to the Space Needle?"

"What? It's a tourist attraction. Plus, it is actually very beautiful. I love coming here, I have every since I was a kid."

"Okay, let's go up," he smiled and walked to the ticket booth. "Hi, can I have two tickets for the observation deck?"

The line to go up was long, as was usual for any Friday afternoon. We stood in silence as the elevator to go up came closer and closer.

"So, where else are we going today?"

"Well, I was thinking we could take a quick ferry ride over to Bainbridge Island and walk around for a little bit, then come back and go to Zeeks Pizza, which is just a couple blocks away, and bring that up to the park by my house and eat there, or go to Ivars by the pier because you can watch the ferryboats go back and forth and it's nice."

"You know, I have a thing for ferryboats," he said softly as he put his hand on the small of my back to lead me into the elevator. The elevator was a little crowded, so I was resting with my back against him, his hands barely touching my arms, yet managing to make it rather difficult for me to breathe. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in as we left the elevator. We both walk silently out to the observation deck and look out at the city. "It's beautiful," he said softly.

"Mhm," I agreed.

"I'm going to go get a water... do you want anything?" He asked as he turned towards the door.

"Um, no thank you."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Five minutes later, Derek returned with his bottle of water and leaned against the rail as he looked over the city. "How often do you come here?" He asked, looking over at me as the wind blew my hair into my face.

"Hm," I thought about it for a moment, "sometimes more than others but I'd say about every other week."

"It's peaceful," he said as he tucked my hair behind my ear, causing me to shift uncomfortably. "Oh, sorry."

"No, it's uh, no problem." I turned away and looked to the city. "This is my favorite part to look out at."

He smiled at me and we joined a comfortable silence until two tourists asked Derek to take their picture. I watched as the happy couple posed with the city behind them and Derek took the picture.

"Are you ready to leave?" I asked him as he came back over to me.

"Can I just stay here forever?" he laughed. "Yeah, I'm ready when you are."

We took the ferry over to Bainbridge and spent an hour there. We board the ferry and go to the outside on the top deck, looking out at Seattle. "Thanks for today," I say softly.

"You were the tour guide," he pointed out.

"Yeah but I mean… with Adam and everything, then staying with me all day. I just, thank you. I couldn't repay you for how much you've helped me."

"I was just happy you were safe today." He smiled down at me and brought his lips down, gently caressing mine. "Uh, sorry it's just…"

"I get it," I smile at him. It felt so damn right. "I think I'm going to tell someone."

"About the kiss? Because…"

"No," I cut him off, "about Adam. It needs to stop and that's the only way to be sure. Tomorrow I'm going to my counselor at school; they can contact the authorities or whatever."

"I'm sorry you have to go through this."

"None of it is your fault. I'm here, thanks to you." I smile at him. "But on a better note, where do you want to eat?"

"I'd be content with just about anything."

"Well that's helpful," I laugh. "Seafood or pizza?"

"I actually haven't had pizza in quite some time."

"An intern that hasn't had pizza in a while?" I laugh.

"Yeah well, I like healthy food."

I laugh again and smile, "pizza it is."

After we get off the ferry, he drives back by the Space needle and I give him directions to Zeeks. We go in and order the Puget Pounder, then make our way back up Queen Anne Hill towards my house. I run in and grab a blanket, and then we walk down the hill to the park with our pizza.

"You're lucky to have such an amazing view this close to your house."

"Yeah, it's my favorite part… I come here almost every night." I grab a slice of pizza and scoot a little closer to him, hoping he didn't notice.

"This is amazing pizza," he said as he took another bite.

"Yeah, it's my favorite."

"Uh so is your mom going to be coming home soon? Because I don't think she'd like me sitting at the park eating pizza with her daughter."

"She wouldn't care. I mean, she might pretend to, but I'm the least of her worries. To answer your question, she won't be home. She sleeps at the house maybe one night a week but it's usually only on her nights off. This morning she told me not to expect her home tonight."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said sadly. "I didn't know."

"It's fine, really. Sometimes it hurts… to look at other families and see that bond, but that's how it's always been."

"You deserve more."

"Eh. And I bet you're wondering about my dad but not wanting to bring it up, yes?"

"Well… I guess."

"He left when I was five, just packed his bags and left as though it was nothing. I don't remember much, but I do remember that it changed everything."

"I'm so sorry."

"You shouldn't be. There's nothing anyone can do about the past so why dwell on it?" I shivered involuntarily and he pulled me closer, wrapping his arm around my body.

_Sittin' here, on this lonely dock  
Watch the rain play on the ocean top  
All the things I feel I need to say  
I can't explain in any other way_

_I need to bold  
Need to jump in the cold water  
Need to grow older with a girl like you  
Finally see you were naturally  
The one to make it so easy when you show me the truth  
**Yeah, yeah I'd rather be with you  
Say you want the same thing too**_

**So the lyrics don't really match, sorry about that. But I need to go study, then sleep and I doubt I'll have time to update tomorrow. R&R!**

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	6. Overboard

**So I really shouldn't be updating right now. I have a physics lab which I'm going to be working on ALL day tomorrow, an essay to write, and a unit to study for my history test Monday. But I'm going to write an update to keep me sane because I hate that I can't do anything. And I had plans to go to San Francisco this weekend :(**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's, I'd be updating this five times a day. I don't do that, do I?**

Derek wraps his arms around me and I turn to face him, a smile involuntarily creeping on my lips. "Mer…" he breathes as he slowly moves his head closer to mine. His lips graze mine and I move in closer, deepening the kiss. His tongue begs for entrance into my mouth so I slowly release my lips as his tongue delves in my mouth. I lean back and run my hands through his hair as he balances himself over me and gently caresses his hands along my arms. Almost as sudden as it began, he pulled away and lifted himself off of me. "Oh shit, I'm sorry I just… and… damn it, you're 17. We can't do this."

"Well, we just did so obviously we can," I laugh. "And I'm almost 18, it's no big deal."

"It is a big deal… your mom is my boss. And on top of that, I'm 26, 27 in 5 months, that's a huge age difference."

"Seriously? Age is just a number. And my mom isn't home enough to realize who I'm dating or what I'm dong."

"We just… can't," he says as he stands up. "I've um, I've got to go. I have work in the morning and… yeah. Uh, bye." He runs up the hill to his car and drives off.

"Well that's great," I mumble to myself.

I walk home and lock the door, sighing. Derek was perfect but I'd never have a chance with him. Today was him pitying me for Adam, that's all it was.

I go upstairs and shower, then change into boxers and a tank top to sleep in. As I lay in bed, the doorbell rings and I run downstairs up to the door. "Who is it?" I ask.

"It's me," my heart begins pounding and I open the door.

"Derek? What are you doing here? Oh, are you back for your sweater? It's up in my room, here I'll go get it for you," I ramble, and then turn to run up the stairs. He grabs my arm and pulls me closer to him. "No, I'm not here for my sweater," he drops whatever was in his hands and pulls my face closer to his, exploring my mouth and letting his hands roam freely over my body. I moan as I slowly lead him over to the couch and pull him on top of me, running my hands through his hair and pulling him even closer to me. He moves his lips lower, sucking on my neck and making me moan. I feel his bulge against my hip and pull his head back up to mine.

"I want you," I mumble.

He smiles at me but quickly pulls away. "We can't do this."

"So you pull me into you, start this whole thing on the couch, but you're backing away now? I don't understand you."

"It's not that I don't want to, I clearly do," he says as he motions down to his evident bulge, "but I just think we need to get to know each other more, make it special."

"I'm not a virgin, Derek."

"I didn't say you were… not that I knew you weren't, but that's not my point, my point is that I just don't think we should do this… yet, at least."

"Oh, okay."

"We should get to know each other, maybe talk a little first," he says as he sits down on the couch again.

"I feel like a whore."

"Don't," he stated simply. "Oh the ice cream," he laughed as he ran over to the doorway and grabbed a bag he dropped.

"You got ice cream?" I laugh.

"Yeah but I wasn't too sure what kind of ice cream you like so I got vanilla ice cream with caramel topping, chocolate topping, strawberry topping, fresh strawberries, and bananas."

I laugh as we make our way to the kitchen. "You got all of that? That's crazy!"

"I felt bad for leaving before."

"Ahh, you think ice cream will make it up?"

"I was hoping."

"You were right," we both laugh and I grab bowels out of the cupboard.

"So, what did I interrupt?"

"What?"

"What were you doing before I came?" He asks ass he scoops ice cream into both of our bowels.

"Oh I was getting ready for bed."

"Oh crap, it's 10:30. Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Yeah but I don't have anything going on. Well, I don't think I do… I kinda ditched part of today because I was avoiding Adam," I say nonchalantly as I pour chocolate sauce over my ice cream.

"Speaking of which, are you talking to anyone tomorrow," he asks softly as he puts sliced strawberries into both of our bowels.

"Yeah, I will. It's time. Can I ask you a favor?"

"Yeah, sure." We both make our way back to the living room and sit on the couch.

"Well, uh, what time do you start work tomorrow?"

"Five, I'm working all night tomorrow night."

"Would you mind… is it possible that you would go there with me?"

"Definitely," he smiles.

"Um, one other thing…"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind spending the night?"

"Your mom…"

"…is never home," I finished for him. "Please," I give him a quick kiss.

"Okay but if your mom comes home…"

"You can punish me," he laughs, "well, I might end up calling my mom and telling her there's a fire and she needs to be here if that were the case. I wouldn't mind a nice spanking."

He shifts uncomfortably and I realize what I'm saying, "oh," I breathe.

"I would never," he begins, "never ever do that."

I smile softly and he pulls me closer, the feeling of security presenting itself again.

"I know," I whisper.

_I watch the ships go sailing by  
I play the girl will you play the guy.  
And I never thought I'd be the type  
to fall, to fall, to fall, to fall to fall._

_**To fall over, fall over, fall overboard, overboard.  
Fall overboard just so you can catch me.  
You can catch me, you can catch me, you can catch.**_

**So that's it for a few days now. I know it's short but I need to get back to studying. Enjoy!**

**R&R!**

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	7. We Are Okay

Sorry it's been awhile… yet again. I'm pretty sure I could win a "worst updater" award. Haha. But I'm not sure I can update after this for a couple weeks because this week is homecoming week so I'm going to be pretty busy between setting up the school for our class day, and the game and dance and such. Sorry!

Disclaimer: If I owned Grey's... I'd, uh, own Grey's :P

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I woke up the next morning with Derek's strong arms wrapped tightly around my waist, holding me close. Smiling, I gently try to remove his arm, but sigh as he holds me even tighter. "Derek," I murmur. Turning around, I smile at his sleeping form and give him a small kiss on the lips. As I'm pulling away, Derek shifts and pulls my lips back to his, giving me a deep kiss. "G'morning," I manage to get out.

"You know what? It is a great morning."

I giggle as he wraps his arms around my waist and gives me a quick kiss. "I have to get ready for school."

"And I have to make you breakfast… stop distracting me!"

"But…" I begin as he cuts me off.

"No buts… go get in the shower."

"Fine," I groan as I get out from under the covers and walk through my cold bedroom. "I expect breakfast when I get out."

"And breakfast you shall receive," he smiles.

"Why are you so damn happy in the morning?"

"I'm normal… this is normal. You're not a morning person?"

"Who is?" I ask with my eyebrows raised.

"Me."

"Ahh," I laugh. "Go make my breakfast."

"Demanding."

"It's hot." He nods his head in agreement and goes downstairs to get started on my breakfast as I get in the shower.

I walk down stairs and a delicious aroma fills my nose. "Mmm, what are you making?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes."

"So you can cook?"

"Uh, pretty well," he laughs.

"I can't cook at all. I think it runs in the family." He laughs as he places two pancakes on my plate.

"Maybe I could teach you."

"I think its genetic but you could try." He pours syrup on my plate and I moan as I take a bite. "Mmm, you can cook."

He laughs as he takes a bite of his own, "Yum, I can."

"Haha," I say sarcastically. "So I start school in 45 minutes and it takes 5 to get there. Uh, could you possibly go see my counselor with me this morning? I just want to get it over with and Adam goes to my school so something might happen if I don't and I just think it would be best if…"

"Meredith, we can leave after you finish eating," he interrupts.

"Okay, thanks," I sigh.

"No need to thank me," he smiles.

20 minutes later, we were walking up to the office together.

"I- I can't do this," I begin to turn away as he pulls me back.

"Mer, we've gone over this. This needs to happen, you need to be safe… I need you to be safe."

"Okay, I can do this…" I tell myself more than him. He nods his head.

I knock gently at my counselor's office door and she quickly answers.

"Meredith, what can I do for you?" She smiles.

"I - uh – we need to talk," I mumble.

"Okay," she nods seriously, "come in." Derek and I walk into her office and sit in adjoining chairs. "You are?" She asks nodding towards Derek.

"Um, Derek Shepherd."

"And what's your relation to Meredith?"

"He's a friend," I cut in for him.

"Okay, what are you here to talk about?"

"Well, uh, just… Uh, I…"

"Mer," Derek said softly, "you can do this."

"Well, there's really no easy way to say this," I mumble. "But I don't know who else to go to and I know you'll probably go to the police or something but I didn't want to go straight to them because that's awkward and just…"

"Mer," Derek cuts in.

"WHAT?" I snap at him. "Okay, well I'm dating someone and he's, um, he's been hitting me and I just… I can't take it anymore. It's getting dangerous and I don't feel safe."

"Adam?" She asks softly.

I nod my head, "since his mom died."

She puts her hand over mine and sighs, "Meredith, you should have come to me sooner. But I guess that's easier said than done. Well, we're going to fix this and yes, there's going to be police involvement but do you, well, I hate asking this, but are there any marks?"

I nod my head and grab a Kleenex, wiping off the makeup that's covering the faint bruising on my face. Then I lift up my shirt sleeves and pull up the bottom of my pants.

"Oh god," she breathes. She looks at me one last time and picks up the phone, "Hi Sophie, yeah can you get Adam Malone in here once he gets to school? Yeah, thank you." She asks Derek and me to step out of her office for a second and I knew she was calling the police department. Five minutes later, she called us back in and questioned us further, mainly asking everything I had already told Derek. Five minutes after first period started, Adam walked into her office, stopping to glare at me first.

"It's okay, Mer… It's all going to be okay," Derek rubs comforting circles on my hand. I lean gently into him and before long, the police walk into the office and the secretary leads them into the counselor's room. They come back out shortly after and take me into another room for questioning. They ask me all the questions I had answered before, and I showed them the marks. As we walk back out, Derek stands. "What's going to happen?" He asks the officers.

"Well, we're going to take Mister Malone into custody and he's going to have further questioning, then later today, Miss Grey will have to come downtown and make an official statement but with everything we've seen, he's no longer going to interfere with Miss Grey and a restraining order will be effective immediately. We're going to have to decide where he will continue his schooling but since he's an adult, he will be tried as one and jail time will be served. As for today, Miss Grey will need to stay at home and wait for us to call her in, but she shouldn't go to class today. And Miss Grey will need to visit the school therapist once a week."

I look down as Derek thanks them for me and shakes my hand. I am turned around as they pull Adam out of the office, but I can feel his glare burning through me. As soon as they leave, I collapse in Derek's arms and he comforts me.

"Come on, I'll take you home," he whispers in my ear. I nod and lean against him as we walk towards his car together.

_Build me a home from a cardboard box  
Many windows never locked  
This is how we used to play  
Shorter nights and longer days  
With faith we would not fade away_

_**But we are okay, we are alright  
We sing very loud**  
Yeah, we're singing  
We are okay, we are alright  
Close our eyes, close our mouth  
Yeah we shut our eyes though we're in doubt._

**Love it or hate it, R&R! :)**


	8. I'm Alright Now

**I am a terrible fic abandoner! Haha sorry. Dramatic life lately. Here's an update!**

We entered my house and I sat on the couch as Derek sat beside me. "Did I just make a mistake?" I ask him softly as he pulls my body into his. "I mean, this could have been a huge mistake. And us… are you sure you want to be with me? Not that you've said you want to be with me and you could just be doing this to be nice but…" I look up at Derek who has an amused yet slightly aggravated look on his face and trail off.

"Mer," he says softly as he pulls my chin up so I'm looking into his eyes, "Mer I think you did the right thing and I think it's all going to get better from now on. You know why? Because I'm going to be here to make it better… I'm sure. And as amusing as I find your rambling, you really must stop doubting yourself."

"But you, you're… everyone looks at you," I say softly.

"And they don't look at you?"

"No," I say while looking into his eyes. He stifles a laugh. "What?" I ask irritated.

"Mer you don't see yourself clearly. I am sure about this… about us. I've thought about us a lot. I mean this thing, it's technically illegal. But I can't seem to imagine myself not with you so there's something I've been meaning to ask since we left the school. Mer I want you to wait for me… or for you to allow me to wait for you. Because this," he says motioning in the space between us, "this is real and it's special. I've known you for two days and already I can't imagine my life without you, without knowing how you were or smelling your hair. And although I can hardly imagine my life without kissing you or waking up next to you every morning from now on, I think we should wait."

"Wait?" I interrupted.

"Until you're 18. If you don't want me at that point, I'd understand; if you moved on, I'd get that. But for now, I'd like to know if you think I should wait."

"No," I murmured and then watched his face fall, "I don't want to wait. I want all that right now," I whisper as I move my face closer to his and gently kiss his lips.

"Mm- Mer we can't," he said softly as he gently pushed me away, causing me to frown and pull away from him. "Mer, you're 17… and it won't be too long until you're 18. We can talk, get to know each other well, become friends. And if on your 18th birthday we decide the next step is a relationship or whatever else it may be, we will take that step."

"What if, what if you change your mind?" I ask gently.

"I don't see that happening anytime soon. These feelings – the way I feel – it's something I've never experienced. There's some magnetic force that pulls me to you. I've always thought people were ridiculous when they start planning things in the beginning of relationships but I've only known you for a day and I can't help but think about you and us and what we could be. Isn't that absurd?"

"I feel it too."

"Which is why we can be together when you turn 18. It's only a few months, Mer. And I personally think its well worth the wait."

"I'm not saying you're not worth the wait!" I cut him off.

"I know," he laughed, "but I'm just saying… on my side its worth it too."

I smiled at him and moved closer, letting his arms wrap around me. "So when does this whole 'waiting' thing start?"

"Mmm after I kiss you a couple more times."

I giggled. "How long could I stretch that out?"

"Well… oh, I have an idea! Until your 18th birthday, you get four kisses from me. There are only a few restrictions. Well, for one, you can't use these kisses in a public place. And, well, the kiss must remain as simple as we can keep it. And three, minimal touching during the kiss."

"What about hugs?"

"What about them?" he questions.

"Well, can I hug you?" I ask as I wrap my arms around him and lay my head on his chest.

"Hug or cuddle?" he raises his eyebrows.

"Both," I mutter sheepishly.

He laughs as he wraps his arms around me, "We'll figure that out in a bit."

_It's like I cannot sleep for dreaming,  
this is everything that I ever hoped it possibly be.  
**A lot of stories will end happily ever after  
but I swear nothing's quite like you and me.**_

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**Okay so I know it isn't much but its Christmas and I have a few things to do. And I hope you don't hate me for abandoning this, sorry!**

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